Getting Ready for the Party of the Year

Where do celebs like Cardi B, Kate Bosworth and Diane Von Furstenberg prep for the Met Gala? At The Carlyle. See our exclusive shots of the pre-party parade.

Each May, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute unveils its annual exhibition, celebrating the new theme with a grand fête. “It’s the Oscars of fashion,” says New York-based photographer Rose Callahan. “Everyone takes risks with their outfits.”

This year’s exhibition, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, prompted a plethora of religious-themed looks. And before they showed them off on the red carpet at the Met Museum, a clutch of A-Listers walked the runway at The Carlyle, where they’d been prepping for the evening’s celebrations.

Callahan, who runs the Metropolitan Opera’s fashion-oriented @lastnightatthemet account, was in The Carlyle’s lobby, where the vibe was “hectic, but electric.” She had only a few seconds to photograph the Met Gala attendees as they prepared to exit the hotel. But in that short time, she saw a dizzying array of outfits, and a few heartfelt moments. Black Panther’s breakout star Letitia Wright seemed nervous before she stepped through the revolving doors to the street, so model Imaan Hammam leaned over and touched her arm, saying “You look beautiful.” Wright laughed, her mood lightened, and she responded, “I just want to have fun!”

Big Little Lies star Shailene Woodley in Ralph Lauren.

Rapper and singer sensation Cardi B and Moschino designer Jeremy Scott walk out covered in jewels from head to toe.